The present disclosure generally relates to head mounted displays, and more specifically relates to tracking portions of a user's face and body while the user is wearing the head mounted display.
Virtual reality systems typically include a display presenting content to users. For example, many virtual reality, or augmented reality, systems include a head-mounted display including a display element presenting image or video data to a user. Content presented by the virtual reality system depicts objects and users of the system.
Many virtual reality systems present graphical representations, or avatars, of users in a virtual environment to facilitate interactions between users. However, conventional virtual reality systems provide limited graphical representations of a user. For example, avatars representing users in many conventional virtual reality systems have a single facial expression, such as a default smiling or neutral facial expression, or a limited set of facial expressions. These limited facial expressions shown by avatars in virtual reality systems often present users from having a fully immersive experience in a virtual environment. Similarly, avatars used by conventional virtual reality systems provide limited details regarding movement of a user's body. For example, avatars are limited to performing a limited number of bodily movements that are performed via predetermined instructions describing movement.
Tracking a user's face and body while the user interacts with a virtual reality system or an augmented reality system may provide a more immersive interface by allowing content presented by the virtual reality system or augmented reality system to replicate movement of the user's face or body, providing a more immersive experience for the user. However, conventional facial or body tracking systems typically include a dedicated peripheral, such as a camera, as well as markers positioned on the face and body of a user being tracked. Using markers and the additional peripheral may separate users from a provided virtual environment and are ill-suited for use in a portable, lightweight, and high-performance virtual reality headset.